The lonely boy took a drag of his freshly lit cigarette, walking down the busy sidewalk on the late Friday afternoon. He sighed as he took a sip of his strong, hot coffee. He kept walking until he reached the middle of town square where he usually played.

He sat down, placing his guitar case on the ground gently. He opened it up, taking out his precious guitar, and set up the case so money could be thrown inside of it. He began strumming the first few chords to the song Coffee and Cigarettes by Never Shout Never. It was one of his favourite songs, and he played it every time.

An hour passed before he took a break from playing and began to count how much he had made. Once he had finished counting, he frowned. How had he only made $20 in the past hour? He leant back against the bench he was situated in front of, his head resting against the cold metal of the chair.

"Michael? Are you okay?" Her voice rang out. He could tell it was her already.

"Henna? What are you doing here?" He replied, getting up off of the ground.

"I was just going to the shops. What are you doing out here? It's absolutely freezing."

"I've got to make money somehow." He laughed sardonically at himself.

"Well, you look lonely. How about I join you?" She gave him no time to reply as she sat in the space next to the one he had previously been occupying. He smiled at her as he too sat down, not bothering to argue. No matter what she said, he knew that she was here to sing with him. This happened every Friday. Friday nights were always the same in this town.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The night finished on a low note, the profits not adding up to what he had hoped to have gotten. Michael sighed as he packed up, his Friday night having gone horribly. 

"Hey, Mike? I'm gonna head home now. Do you need a ride?" He nodded, even though she wasn't even looking at him. She asked every Friday, just out of courtesy, but she knew that he'd always say yes.

He lit up another cigarette, walking over to Henna's car. 

"You know, one day all of that smoking is going to kill you." She said, breaking him out of his trance.

"The day it does is the day when I'll finally be noticed as a musician, not just that kid who sits in the park, thinking he can sing and play guitar."

"I know you'll get noticed. There's no way you wouldn't. Talent like yours is too precious to lose. Now give me that." Michael smiled at the smaller girl before handing her the cigarette. He wasn't surprised when instead of putting it out, she put it in her mouth.

"Shall we grab coffee?" Henna asked.

"I think we should. Do you want to know something?" Michael replied.

"What?"

"Coffee and cigarettes are best when shared with you."

~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Michael sat at home, bored out of his mind. He usually hung out with his friends,but they were busy today. He decided on giving Henna a call, to see if she wanted to go to the movies. He was positive he'd be able to afford it this weekend, despite the fact that he didn't earn much yesterday.

When she picked up the phone, Michael could tell she had just gotten up.

"Hello?" She mumbled.

"Hey Henna, it's me, Mike."

"I know that, idiot. There's this wonderful thing called caller ID."

"Hey, try to tone down the sarcasm. I was just calling to see if you wanted to hang out to day, maybe go see a movie?" 

"Don't you have other friends than me? I never see you with anybody else during the week." She laughed.

"Hey, I have friends, but they have friends, and then they have parties, and you I'm too awkward for that." She laughed at him even more, and Michael cracked a small smile. Her laugh was beautiful.

"Okay, Michael. I will go on this movie date with you." She teased.

"It's not a date! Just as friends, we're seeing a movie. That is not a date." He blushed crimson, glad that she could not see him.

"If you say so. I'll be at your place in about an hour and a half. Don't take too long getting ready, princess." Before he could reply, she hung up on him. 

"I do not take that long getting ready." He muttered to himself as he walked into the bathroom, preparing to shower.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The movie theatre was quiet, as usual. Not many people liked to visit this theatre, as it showed a limited amount of films, usually the same ones for months on end. Luckily, there was a movie showing that neither Michael or Henna had seen yet. 

They sat in the very back corner of the room, their eyes glued to the screen as it showed a gruesome horror scene. Michael noticed Henna jump as someone had a spear go straight through their head, and laughed slightly at her. She always insisted that she loved horror movies, yet was always scared to death by them. She cowered into the seat, and Michael casually slung an arm around her shoulder. She didn't hesitate to cuddle into him; this was their usual horror movie routine. 

When the movie finally finished, they made their way to the nearest Waffle House. This had been their tradition since the first movie they saw together.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm telling you Michael, college will be the death of me. There's so much work to do and so little time to do it, I'm lucky I even had today free." Henna complained as they sat there, cups of hot coffee placed in front of each of them.

"Do what I did. Just drop out." Michael replied, picking his drink up and taking a sip, the hot liquid burning his mouth.

"Yeah, that went so well for you, didn't it. You parents threw you out and are now making you fend for yourself. I'd rather not meet that fate, I mean, I can barely afford the rent for my apartment as it is."

"There's a difference between us, though. Your parents are considerate, and it was your choice to attend college. However, my parents forced me to attend, and completely ignored me when I told them I wanted to pursue music." Henna nodded thoughtfully before she asked her next question.

"Have you heard from 'rentals lately?"

"Not a single word, not even on my birthday last week. I guess I'm too much of a disappointment to be even talk to now." Michael glares darkly at the table, almost as if willing it to burn down.

"Who needs uppity snobs like them in your life anyway. You got me now, Mike, you don't have to worry about them." Henna said, grabbing hold of Michael's hand, knowing that it calmed him down.

"Yeah, I guess. anyway, let's get going, I want to get home as soon as possible. All this outside time has worn me out." Henna laughed as they paid the bill and walked out of the restaurant. Michael stared at her until she noticed and asked him what he was doing.

"I was just thinking, Saturdays like this make the boring Fridays worth it." She smiled brightly at him, agreeing as they made their way to the car. Michael spoke one last time, just as he was getting into the car.

"I couldn't think of a better person than you to share my coffee and cigarettes with."